Conspiracy

A wave of panic and sighs rippled through the arena.

A male teacher stumbled back half a step, his pupils constricting and his face turning deathly pale. His hands trembled subconsciously, and a lingering, extreme terror remained in the depths of his eyes.

The bone-chilling despair and near-death fear within the illusion had been too real, as if he had truly taken a trip through hell.

Other teachers murmured the names of old acquaintances, their voices hoarse and filled with desolation and regret.

"Xiaoyun... where are you..."

"Why, back then, were you so insistent on leaving..."

Almost everyone's face bore an unnatural flush, whether from the lingering fear of the ordeal or from an inescapable sense of remorse and loneliness.

A few teachers with weaker mental fortitude remained dazed and expressionless long after the illusion had faded, unable to return to their senses for a long time.

"Hey, are you alright? Wake up..."

Companions beside them reached out to pat their cheeks, calling out to them in the simplest way to pull them back to reality.

At this moment, everyone in the arena shared the same realization—the domain of Yue Ling's second spirit soul was terrifying to the extreme.

Love, hate, obsession, greed.

How could a person be without desire?

A moment later, everyone finally calmed their minds.

Yan Shaozhe slowly closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, only cold majesty remained in his gaze.

He used his spirit power to amplify his voice, his stern tone resounding throughout the arena, brooking no argument: "Everything that happened on the field today is to be kept secret by everyone! It is strictly forbidden to spread it outside! Those who violate this will face severe punishment from the academy, with no leniency!"

As his majestic words fell, every teacher and student present felt a chill in their hearts and nodded solemnly, none daring to voice the slightest objection.

Yan Shaozhe scanned the audience with cold eyes, gave a few brief instructions to Du Weilun, who had hurried over, and then did not linger.

His figure moved, and he streaked through the air in the direction Elder Xuan had departed.

After all, a major event awaited them next.

In the center of the arena, Du Weilun coughed twice, suppressing the lingering aftereffects of the illusion in his heart.

No one knew what this usually composed director of discipline had experienced within that illusion just moments ago...

He collected his thoughts, his expression returning to gravity, and looked at the remaining Ma Xiaotao and Gongyang Mo on the field, loudly announcing the result: "In this Freshman Ultimate Elimination Tournament, the team of Yue Ling has won first place!"

The crowd erupted in an uproar, especially Wu Ya, whose eyes were crinkled in a smile so wide he could barely keep them open.

By now, Ma Xiaotao and Gongyang Mo had regained their senses, their hearts filled with lingering fear and trepidation.

They felt no joy in their victory; hearing Du Weilun announce it, they only reacted with a delayed sense of shock.

Du Weilun looked at the two and said slowly, "Not being arrogant in victory and not discouraged in defeat is something that must be achieved to progress."

"You are all the most outstanding among the freshmen I have ever seen, and I hope you can maintain this mindset."

"Alright, that is all." Du Weilun hurried away from the Assessment Area.

The other observing teachers also wisely dispersed.

After Wu Ya came down to praise and comfort them, he also tactfully chose to leave.

The commotion faded, and the vast final arena finally returned to silence.

Ma Xiaotao was expressionless, lost in thought. "Let's go back first, go back and get some good rest... we'll talk about the rest when Yue Ling returns."

"Mm." Gongyang Mo had yet to recover from his somber mood.

Having experienced so much all at once, they needed time to process it.

After bidding each other farewell, they parted ways at the Assessment Area.

The previously bustling Assessment Area was suddenly empty, and the results of the freshman final spread throughout the entire academy.

However, things were much more chaotic elsewhere.

The Holy Spirit Cult.

In a dark, sealed stone chamber, the Douluo of Ten Thousand Souls suddenly spat out a large mouthful of blood. His pupils contracted violently, his face filled with disbelief as he stumbled to his feet from the ground.

"Why... why is my spirit power only at level seventy-one!"

He roared in a low, frantic voice, his hands clenching subconsciously, his eyes filled with confusion and madness.

"My cultivation... where did my power as a Titled Douluo go?"

The Douluo of Ten Thousand Souls focused his mind to look inward, carefully probing the spirit power circulating within his body.

Once, twice... the result was exactly the same.

His spirit power level had truly stopped at level seventy-one, a Spirit Saint.

Refusing to accept this fact, he moved his mind, and his spirit soul was suddenly released. Rings of light rose from beneath his feet.

Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black.

Seven spirit rings in total hovered silently around him.

"Why... why is this happening!!"

The Douluo of Ten Thousand Souls was completely enraged. The violent, chaotic resentment-filled spirit power within him surged outward uncontrollably, slamming into the ground. The hard stone floor was blasted with dense, deep pits and cracks.

He acted like a madman, his hands clawing fiercely at his own scalp, until he suddenly seemed to remember something and shrieked at the top of his lungs.

"It's that brat! It must be that brat named Yue Ling!"

"A hundred-thousand-year spirit ring... he was clearly under my surveillance the whole time, how could he possibly obtain a hundred-thousand-year spirit ring?"

"That was supposed to be my spirit ring! It's impossible!!"

The Ten Thousand Soul Banner in his hand suddenly erupted with a pitch-black, blinding light. The surging, violent power of the vengeful spirits directly shattered the stone door of the chamber, and the wild fluctuations of spirit power spread outward, alarming the Douluo of Abomination, who was resting next door.

The Douluo of Abomination walked slowly to the door. The moment he saw the seven spirit rings around the other man, his face was first filled with astonishment, then replaced by deep mockery as he burst into laughter.

"Ten Thousand Souls? How did you end up with only the cultivation of a Spirit Saint? Hahaha! What a massive joke!"

"What are you laughing at!!" The Douluo of Ten Thousand Souls roared fiercely, his eyes bloodshot as he glared at him. "It's all your fault! I told you long ago, we should have seized that body and devoured it directly! You refused, insisting on watching his decent talent and wasting time slowly eroding his soul to possess his body!"

"Are you satisfied now? Not only did the possession fail, but my cultivation has become a wedding dress for that brat! You compensate me! Compensate me for my cultivation!!!"

Looking at the completely hysterical and insane Douluo of Ten Thousand Souls before him, a flash of imperceptible relief flickered deep in the eyes of the Douluo of Abomination.

Thank goodness, thank goodness that brat didn't absorb his cultivation.

The Douluo of Abomination's eyes darted around.

Hundred Flowers Village was truly a good place; it was a paradise for flower-type spirit souls.

According to the Cult Master, there were strange fluctuations of spirit power there.

When they went to inspect it, they found nothing, but it had led to a new discovery.

Unexpectedly, that village had not only produced a Titled Douluo in the past but also a top-tier spirit soul family.

Heh, it was just a pity that it had long since declined.

Under his instruction, after that brat ate the Wonder-Silk Heavenly Chrysanthemum treasured by the old man's family, both his physical strength and talent were one in a million.

Heh, and no one had noticed that the flower had been tampered with by the Douluo of Ten Thousand Souls.

The Douluo of Abomination secretly gloated.

If the Douluo of Ten Thousand Souls had successfully taken over that body, his terrifying talent and domain would all belong to the Holy Spirit Cult. In large-scale wars, it would be more than enough to crush the Spirit Masters of the Shrek Inspection Team, and perhaps even Shrek Academy itself... hehehe.

He didn't want to destroy Yue Ling as mere fertilizer just yet.

Persisting with a slow possession to completely occupy that body and its spirit soul abilities was the top priority.

Now that the Douluo of Ten Thousand Souls had suffered a loss, he would certainly be unwilling to accept failure and would surely choose to attempt possession again.

Heh heh, I really am a genius.

I'll stabilize him for now.

Whatever conditions he has, I'll agree to them if I can, and I must ensure no word of this leaks out.

If he succeeds, my status in the Holy Spirit Cult will rise.

If he fails, it has nothing to do with me.

It's a win-win situation.

At this moment.

Under the gaze of the Douluo of Ten Thousand Souls, the Douluo of Abomination looked pained. "It's alright, Ten Thousand Souls. In a while, I'll accompany you to find a few villages and absorb more souls. It won't be long before your cultivation returns!"

"Yes, souls... souls!" The Douluo of Ten Thousand Souls stared viciously at the Douluo of Abomination. "When I hit a bottleneck, you must help me hunt for spirit rings!"

"Fine! Don't worry!" The Douluo of Abomination patted his chest, appearing very responsible.

The Douluo of Ten Thousand Souls glared fiercely at his own hand, where a cluster of blood-red energy—a wisp of the remnant soul hidden deep within Yue Ling—remained.

Don't worry, I won't let you have an easy time...

Your body and mind, your talent, and even your soul will be mine sooner or later.

"Hahahahahaha!"